Draft gear



Dec. 15,1925 1,555.955

' H. C. PRIEBE DRAFT GEAR Filed A ril' 30, 1924 2 sheets-shut 1 Patented Dec. 15, 1925.

PATENT OFFICE.

' HERMAii c. PRIEBE, or BLUE isLANn, ILLINOIS.

DRAFT GEAR.

Application filed April 30, 1924. Serial No. 710,084.

To all whom it may concern: r

Be it known that I, HERMAN C. PBIEBE,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Blue Island, in the county of Cook and the L State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Draft Gears, of which the following is a full, clear, concise, and exact description.

My invention relates to draft gears for coupling railway cars into trains and in particular to that class of gears which employ motion resisting or shock absorbing elements and followers which relate these elements to draft or center sills and coupler yokes, though the invention is not to be thus limited.

In carrying out my invention, in the preferred way, I employ spring plates at the ends of a yoke and disposed transversely thereof, a floating spacer at an intermediate portion of the yoke and limiting the extent to which the plates at the yoke ends may approach, and a coiled spring extending longitudinally of the yoke of greater extent, longitudinally of the yoke, than the spacer, whereby the spring may take the initial or lighter coupler strains unhindered by the spacer which is formed to permit bending of the spring plates after being engaged thereby in response to the final r heavier coupler strains. Draft lugs hold the plate orplates at either yoke end when the plate or plates at the other yoke end are being moved by the yoke. Followers are interposed between the draft lugs and the adjacent spring plates,'the followers being preferably inwardly convexed to bend or bow the plates, while the floating spacer is concave at its ends to permit the spring plates to be bowed thereinto.

The invention will be more fully explained in connection with the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is a plan view, partially inv section, illustrating the preferred embodiment of the invention; Fig. 2 is a side view of the structure shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a sectional view on line 33 of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a sectional view on line 44 of Fig. 1; and Fig. 5 is a sectional View on line 55 of Fig. 1.

The draft gear illustrated includes a coupler stem or shank 1 and a coupler yoke 2 assembled with the stem by means of a key 3 passing through the outer end of the yoke, the coupler shank, and elongated slots 4 formed in the center or longitudinal sills 5, these slots permitting movements of the coupler longitudinally of the center sills. The yoke is supported and slides upon a plate 6 that is secured to and beneath the longitudinal sills 5. The outer follower 7 and the inner follower 8 are assembled with the yoke that surrounds them. The outer follower 7 is limitedin the extent to which it may be moved outwardly, by the draft lugs 9 that are secured to the inner and up right sides of the center sills. The inward movement of the inner follower is limited by the draft lugs 10 that are likewise secured to the center sills. The opposing in- -ner transverse faces of the followers are desirably convex, the crowns of these surfaces engaging the spring plates 11 that are preferably provided in groups at each follower and which extend transversely of and through the coupler yoke. A coiled spring 12, which is preferably compound, is placed longitudinally of the yoke and is surrounded thereby, this coiled spring maintaining the groups of spring plates against the followers. When receiving the lighter strains, these'springplatesserve, in a way, as supplements to the followers, inasmuch as these spring plates do not bend orbow until their movement toward the center of the yoke is hindered by the floating spacer 13, disposed longitudinally of and within the yoke, the spacer desirably having an intermediate cylindrical portion which serves as a housing for the-spring andinward ly dished or concave end flanges 14 whose rims engage the groups of spring plates when the coiled spring has been compressed to an extent that will per mit the spring plates to engage the spacer.

while a particular group of spring plates is being depressed in response to the heavier draft strains, the coiled spring will continue to be compressed, the response of the plates and coiled spring to the draft strains ceasing when the plates, in action, have been ful 1y depressed into the adjacent concave end of the spacer. Thus the coiled spring takes the lighter draft strains, and the plates, together with the coiled spring, take the final or heavier strains. The spring plates not only serve to absorb the draft strains due to their resilience, but-the friction between the plates supplements the resilience of the spring plates in resisting draft strains.

The followers are formed with eyes 15 ill) IOU

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which may receive assembling both or wires that will hold the parts of the motion resisting mechanism in assembly, in dependently of the yoke, in order that such mechanism may be shipped or stored separately from the yoke. Each follower, and the group of spring plates individual thereto, are held in assembly by means of a metal strap 16 having an intermediate U-shaped portion 16 that extends toward the center of the yoke and which embraces the group of plates pertaining to the corresponding follower and holes the intermediate portion of this group of plates inassembly with the crown of the corresponding follower. The strap is continued through the opening 16 in the corresponding follower, and is looped outwardly around the ends of such follower, being finally curled against the sides of the U- shaped portion 16 Changes may be made without departing from my invention.

Having thus described my invention, I claim 1. A draft gear including a coupler yoke; followers, one at each end of the yoke, these followers having opposed convex faces; spring plates engaged by the convex faces of said followers; a spacer between said plates and hollow longitudinally. of the yoke; and a coiled spring within said spacer of greater extent longitudinally of the gear, than the spacer, said spring engaging the plates that are at said followers and said spacer having concave flanges at its ends into which the spring plates thereat may be bowed.

2. A draft gear including a coupler yoke; followers, one at each end of the yoke, these followers having opposed convex faces; spring plates engaged by the convex faces of said followers; a: spacer between said plates and hollow longitudinally of the yoke; and. a coiled spring within said spacer of greater extent longitudinally of the gear, than the spacer, said spring engaging the plates that are at said followers and said spacer having concave ends into which the spring plates thereat may be bowed.

3. A draft gear including a coupler yoke; followers, one at each end of the yoke, these followers having opposed convex faces; spring plates engaged by the convex faces of said followers; a spacer between said plates having concave flanges at its ends into which the spring plates thereat may be bowed; and motion resisting mechanism engaging said plates and of greater extent, longitudinally of the gear, than said spacer and ultimately permitting engagement of said plates and spacer.

a. A draft gear including a coupler yoke; followers, one at each end of the yoke, these followers having opposed convex faces; spring plates engaged by the convex faces of said followers; a spacer between said plates having concave ends into which the spring plates thereat may be bowed; and motion resisting mechanism engaging said plates and of greater extent, longitudinally of the gear, than said spacer and ultimately permitting engagement of said plates and spacer.

5. In a draft gear, a follower; in combination with a group of' motion resisting plates; a metal strap having a U-shaped portion that receives said plates, the ends of the U-shaped portion passing through the follower and being looped outwardly about ends of the follower; and means for bending the plates on compression of the gear.

6. In a draft gear, a follower; in combination with a group of motion resistingv plates; a metal strap having a U-shaped portion that receives said plates, the ends of said U-shaped portion passing through the follower and being looped outwardly about the ends of the follower and terminating in inwardly'curled portions engaging the sides of said U-shaped portion; and means for bending the plates on compression of the gear.

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name,

HERMAN C. PRIEBE. 

